Extractive Industry Supply Chain Study – South Gippsland Region

Extractive Industry Supply Chain Study – South Gippsland Region

ELIZABETH GIBSON, General Manager of CMPA.

Following on from the article in Sand & Stone Issue 97 regarding Extractive Resources in Victoria: Supply and Demand, consideration is given here to the transport of construction materials. Transport for Victoria (DEDJTR) has commenced an extractive industry supply chain study in the South Gippsland Region. The approximate areas of interest, highlighted in blue, are illustrated below in Figure 1 which also shows the transport. Below being highlighted in blue which also shows the direction of raw construction materials into Melbourne.

The project was prompted by the DEDJTR report published in 2016 “Helping Victoria Grow: Extractive Resources in Victoria, Demand and Supply Study, 2015-2050” (available from
www.earthresources.vic.gov.au).

In this Report, the South Gippsland region was predicted to supply Melbourne and suburbs with up to 24 million tonnes per annum of sand, gravel and rock by the year 2050 based on existing sources of extractive resources within the Melbourne region and the urban growth areas becoming depleted, or unusable within the foreseeable future.

24 million tonnes per annum at 60 tonne net per load, operating 5 days per week equates to 1600 loads per day or 3200 vehicles per day allowing for the return journey.

However, some CMPA Members feel that a more likely figure is 2000+ trucks or 4000+ truck movements per day, using net average tonnages per load of less than the 60 tonne in the Project Outline.

The South Gippsland Region, including Bass Coast, is predicted to supply about 30% of extractive resources for Melbourne’s future construction and infrastructure activity by 2050. It should be noted that the demand for construction material is currently greater than the highest point in figure 16 Extractive Resource Demand for 2017 in the supply study.

Taking into account unprecedented population growth, together with 5-6 major projects commencing in Melbourne in the near future, the demand for construction materials will only increase above the current forecast levels.

This study aims to identify the transport routes and infrastructure investment required to facilitate movement of this freight from the origin (quarry) to the destination (Melbourne and suburbs).

Transport for Victoria has recognised the importance of providing a transport network that supports our industry and enables timely and efficient delivery of resources to market. As such, they have committed to investigate the capacity for transport infrastructure and road network systems required to support the projected magnitude of change in this freight task.

This supply chain study will investigate:

• Origin, route and destination of material to be transported;
• Annual freight volumes (mostly from the Supply Study);
• Freight vehicle configurations that optimise industry operations and minimise freight costs; For example: ‘A double’ trucks with tri-axle configurations with a gross payload of 88 tonnes;
• Capacity of the existing network to support the desired transport outcome;
• Options to improve efficiency of the network (for example, 24 hour operations);
• Planning processes (for example 24hr quarry operations to support 24hr transport);
• Financial contributions from industry to facilitate investment in infrastructure.

Some of the dot points raise a few concerns not least being “Financial contributions from industry to facilitate investment in infrastructure”. The industry currently pays for road usage through a variety of fees and taxes. Work Plan approvals also consistently require a local infrastructure upgrade(s) for egress of trucks from quarries to main (VicRoads approved) transport routes. Consequently, the CMPA will advocate that our Members should not be required to invest further in for any required transport infrastructure upgrades that are to the State’s broader economic interest.

With respect to High Productivity Freight Vehicles (HPFV), the following points are made:

• Some source quarries access routes and the VicRoads transport infrastructure and network system, are likely to be able to facilitate, or be upgraded, to cope with HPFVs, however;
  • Many source quarries will not, due to:
    • Council (Responsible Authority) controlled access/egress local roads and bridges; and
    • Quarry weighbridge capacity constraints, e.g. 88 tonne GVM, separate axle group weighing capability and length of weighbridge (split weighing);
  • Many Melbourne Supply Area (MSA) concrete batching plant sites, the principal recipient of quarried aggregates (hard rock) sand for the manufacture of pre-mixed concrete do not:
    • Have site areas, or configurations, including that of ground level bulk storage feed bins (excluding those with drive over in-ground bulk storage bins) to receive HPFVs;
    • Council (Responsible Authority) controlled access/egress local roads and bridges, e.g. City of Greater Dandenong, in respect of:
      • Local access/egress street(s) GVM weight and vehicle size/width restrictions applicable to existing Heavy Vehicles, but moreover, future HPFV’s as envisaged, e.g. other local business impacts, street kerb parking, etc.
  • Many civil works sites such as new residential, commercial estates, infrastructure projects, or sports field developments have access limitations, for the delivery of Crushed Rock, Embedment Sand, Turf Sands, etc.
    • Weight (GVM) constraints due to the undeveloped natural surface, or pre-prepared nature of the site, estate, or sports field;
    • Minimal access area for effecting delivery, especially;
    • Restricted turning circle area for maneuverability of large, Heavy Vehicles.

Each of these are practical limitations that currently impact the applicability (use) of existing PBS Vehicles (>68.5 tonne) in favour of smaller (less efficient) vehicle combinations. Consequently, we would expect the same delivery limitations will restrict the use of HPFVs to such Melbourne sites into the future.

The outcomes being sought are:

• Agreement between industry and all levels of government on the most important transport routes;
• Identified future High Productivity Freight Vehicles (HPFV) considered by industry to be best suited to this task;
• An infrastructure investment plan to facilitate industry moving to HPFV on the agreed routes;
• Efficient industry operations with respect to the transport network. (minimise transport costs);
• Increased flexibility in planning to facilitate efficient industry transport operations.

The listed Supply Chain Study investigation dot-points all have relevance and merit. However, the CMPA is especially supportive of:

• Planning Process (for example 24 hour quarry operations to support 24 hour transport – where appropriate and achievable without significant (demonstrated) adverse impact/risk to nearest sensitive receptors; and
• Options to improve efficiency of the network (for example, 24 hour operations).

In relation to the Supply Chain Outcomes Sought, we are particularly invested in:

• Agreement between industry (Extractives Sector) and all levels of government on the most important transport routes;
• An infrastructure investment plan to facilitate industry moving to HPFV on the agreed routes; and importantly;
• Increased flexibility in planning to facilitate efficient industry transport operations.

We look forward to the report.

Thank you to Laurie Jeremiah, Senior Transport Planner, Transport for Victoria for leading this important project for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety; and to Garry Cranny (Chairperson CMPA, Dandy Premix) for input.

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